Interview. Americana singer-songwriter Lance Cowan releases a new album. The first single, Where’d They Go, is about Trump’s immigration policy (ICE).
Posted by Peter Schavemaker | Jun 24, 2026.
On July 24, the third album titled *The Air That You Breathe* by Lance Cowan will be released. It is his third album in three years and contains songs with Americana, folk, bluegrass, and roots-rock influences. The CD will also be released in Europe. In 2027, Cowan hopes to come to Europe for concerts.
Peter Schavemaker spoke with Lance Cowan about the album. At the bottom of this page, you can read the first part of the interview, which is about the first single, *Where’d They Go*. Cowan wrote the song, together with Terry Clayton, about the Trump administration’s immigration policy (ICE):
“I have friends in the Latino community here in Nashville. This administration has terrorized an entire segment of the population. People don’t even know whether they can safely go to the grocery store without being picked up off the street by masked individuals, thrown into a vehicle, and then being unable to contact their family.”
The single will be played frequently on Grolloo Radio in the coming period.
In February 2024, Grolloo Radio had the first Dutch, and even European, interview with Cowan about CD number one, *So Far So Good*, a collection of songs he wrote inspired by, among others, Jackson Browne, The Eagles, and John Prine. In March 2025, the follow-up album *Against The Grain* was released, featuring the beautiful song *Love Anyway* about heartbreaking radical us-versus-them viewpoints.
Over the past few years, we at Grolloo Radio have frequently played tracks from these albums because they are strong in storytelling. *The Air That You Breathe* is also receiving a great deal of attention leading up to its release on July 24. Grolloo Radio has exclusive permission for the Netherlands to already play all tracks before the release.
The first single from Lance Cowan's album is titled *Where’d They Go*. The song is about the Trump administration’s migration policy, like the images of ICE that were also shown here in the Netherlands on the news.
“That is really painful to see,” says Lance Cowan. “I have friends in the Latino community here in Nashville. This administration has terrorized an entire segment of the population. People do not even know whether they can safely go to the grocery store without being snatched off the street by masked individuals, thrown into a vehicle, and then being unable to contact their families again.”
An article in The New York Times formed the basis of the song, which he co-wrote with one of his regular writing partners, Terry Clayton. “We read that during deportations, people are sometimes picked up off the street while their pets are left at home without care. To me, that is such a striking illustration of the cruelty of this policy. I am not saying that people who are in the country illegally should not have legal status. I believe in following legal procedures. But I know people who have been trying for years to navigate those procedures. It is incredibly complicated and expensive. By the time you have paid all the legal fees, you are out tens of thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, agents wait outside immigration offices, where people are actually trying to take the proper steps, only to pick them up off the street. It is yet another example of a government that seems to have no compassion. That breaks my heart. That is what this song is about.”
At the center of *Where’d They Go* is the story of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who became a symbol of the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies. Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador for the United States in 2011. Although he never officially received asylum, he built a life there, married an American woman, and had a son. The U.S. government accuses him of being a member of the MS-13 gang, but he denies any involvement. His case has become an important symbol in the debate over immigration and deportation in the United States. Garcia was wrongly deported to El Salvador in March 2025, according to a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, much to the anger of the Trump administration.
According to Lance Cowan, some listeners sometimes miss the core message of the song.
“If people miss one word, they sometimes miss the entire meaning. If they do not hear the name Garcia, they may not understand what it is about. Fortunately, I usually perform for people who listen closely to lyrics. But every now and then someone asks, ‘So where did they go?’ Then I say: call Homeland Security and ask them. Nobody knows where they are. That is exactly what is heartbreaking about it.”
Cowan emphasizes that he does not consider his album a political record.
“I would not call this a political song. It is an account of what is happening. In the album’s biography, I explain that years ago I saw an interview with Paul Simon. He spoke about the importance of a songwriter as a reporter. That meant a lot to me because I used to be a journalist myself. As a reporter, you try to tell a story truthfully. You simply describe what is happening. Some people may have no problem with the deportation of the Garcia family. I do not explicitly take a position on that in the song. I am only telling the story of a situation in which someone was taken off the street and could not even be at home to care for their pets. That is reporting. I am not preaching. I think you can probably guess my opinion, but I am not trying to force anything on anyone. I am simply describing what is happening.”
So that explains why you wanted to write this song?
“Exactly. My friend Terry Clayton, with whom I wrote the song, had wanted for a long time to write a song about immigration. When he came to me last fall, it turned out that the subject was on both of our minds.”
Do you hope that your music and stories can change the situation in some way?
“I think music can certainly contribute to that. Music can influence the direction in which a society moves. Whether my music will make such a big difference, I don’t know. Of course I hope it can mean something on some level. But ultimately, I’m mainly trying to express what I think and feel.”
For the past 30 years, Lance Cowan has worked behind the scenes as a publicist for major country artists such as Joe Ely, Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, Los Lobos, Charlie Daniels, Reba McEntire, Scotty Moore, DJ Fontana, Lyle Lovett, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, and Bobby Charles. As a songwriter, he has also achieved success, with Joan Baez, Janis Ian, and David Mallett recording his songs.
“When He Was Here,” which he wrote years ago with Janis Ian, now appears— in a revised arrangement — on The Air That You Breath.
Press photos: Lance Cowan and Jeff Fasano.
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